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The Beauty of Updates

I’ve come to think of pitch videos and project descriptions as first dates. The most idealized versions of ourselves. A little stiff, maybe laughs a little too hard at jokes. It’s often endearing, occasionally awkward, but we all understand how it works.

Project updates are relationships. You get a feel for who someone actually is, how they think, what motivates them. It humanizes the project, and I’ve increasingly found that that human element is exactly what sparks me to pledge. I love reading about a project’s struggles — the more mundane the better.

When done right, project updates highlight the narrative of a project perfectly. It’s like a mini reality TV show where we love the whole cast and we know the drama is real. That’s what it’s like following Allison Weiss or watching Emily Richmond’s updates from sea. It’s a privilege to share in those stories and to bask in their warm glow. It’s one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever had the pleasure to do on the web.

All of this struck me today as I read through some of the recent updates to hit the site. Watching the Quiet’s genius cat video, which had the office laughing hard. Or even stumbling across a classical music project I hadn’t seen before and seeing this beautiful photo:

Forget dating — let’s marry these projects, raise some kids, and grow old together. As backers, that’s what it sometimes feels like. It’s intimate and real. We’ll soon make it easier to uncover updates and their stories. Maybe you can fall in love too.

Comments

Been reading through the Kickstarter blog entries for the first time today, and ran across this one. I'm surprised it doesn't have more comments. Not only are the analogies well placed but the writing itself really carries them along.

These Kickstarter projects really are like mini-reality-TV shows. They are one of the few ways we can jump right into someone's life and be a part of...not just their life, but their dreams. In fact, rolling with that idea, Kickstarter is really just a huge field of dreams isn't it?

I'm both dreading and greatly looking forward to my upcoming adventure here. Keep your eyes open for Belief Genome - a map of all human beliefs.